”Students are being put under unnecessary pressure due to the uncertainty that exists with regards to the January examination session,” the Gozo University Group has said.
In a statement, the GUG said that while some faculties have shifted examinations to be held online, others are still holding them physically in person ”with no clarification on what will happen should a student be in mandatory quarantine.”
It went on to say that the ”current policy appears to be that if a student is under mandatory quarantine when scheduled for an exam, the student must then take the exam for the first time in September.”
GUG insisted that it is ”quite unfair and illogical to have exams postponed to the next session due to circumstances over which students have no control.”
It pointed out that having to sit for the first time in September would mean that if a student fails this first session, the student would not have the opportunity to re-sit for the exam in the same year.
”No one can guarantee that the COVID-19 situation in September will be any better than it is now,” the GUG said. ”Not only that, but it is also very unfair for a student who has been preparing and studying for an exam to throw away all their hard work at the very last minute.”
It also noted that many lectures are still being held in person, which means there’s a higher chance of the spread of the virus among students, ”with a higher risk for us Gozitan students who have to travel between the islands using public transport,” the GUG said.
The Gozo University Group called for ”immediate action to be taken with regards to the above and to re-evaluate the current policy, taking into consideration all students concerned.”
‘Students deserve to have some peace of mind and have a viable option that they could resort to should they be stuck in quarantine,” it said.